


Bittersweet

by ephemeralfangirl



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 15:52:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9190412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephemeralfangirl/pseuds/ephemeralfangirl
Summary: Kara accidentally meets Cat in a pub in Scotland.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Her guys, a little while ago this prompt was posted on tumblr by karalovesallthegirls:
> 
> Supercat prompt: Kara can fly across the world in minutes, obviously she goes to foreign places on a semi regular basis. She has a restaurant in Scottland that has a dish so similar to her favorite Kryptonian dish that when she’s upset she’ll go there to decompress and get comfort food.
> 
> Only this time Kara turns around to come face to face with Cat Grant, hands on her popped hip as she waits for her former assistant to explain just what she’s doing in Scottland when just this morning she tweeted from National City.
> 
> I took some liberties, but still, there you go.

If Kara could feel cold, her teeth would be chattering. The cloud cover was so low she could almost see every individual tree underneath her without effort. It made the Trossachs into a large mass of black forest spaced out by blacker lakes. The only advantage to the unforgiving weather was that nobody would look up to see Supergirl flying over Scotland. She idly wondered if Winn would be willing to make her a stealth suit. Her lips almost quirked up at the geek out she was sure he’d have at the request before she found the spot she was looking for. Making sure no one was around, she lowered herself quietly to the DEO issue locked box she’d hidden in the high branches some time ago. She changed into her street clothes at super speed, stashing her suit and cape away. 

Kara put her feet on the ground and walked to the edge of the forest until she hit the road just a little off the inn. She walked through the drizzle, the forbidding weather matching her mood. It was bleak and desolate and it resonated inside as if it had been made to reflect her on this night. Her week had been hell, between Mon-el’s pointless and awkward attempts at wooing her, a never-ending stream of Cadmus incidents and Alex being understandably MIA, she felt drained and lonely.

Up until recently, she would have visited her favourite balcony, but there was nothing there for her anymore. She’d only gone once since Cat had left, hoping for some sort of comfort and she’d stopped before landing. She’d seen James sitting in the great chair and her breath had caught. She’d hovered silently, something burning painfully in her chest. Kara had lifted herself higher, had sat on the edge of the building, knees to her chest, her grief too great for tears. It was one thing to miss Cat during the day because she could fool herself into thinking it was an extended business trip: it was painful, but it would end. Seeking Cat as Supergirl had been different and purposeful and never before had she not found what she needed there. She had never fully gotten what she truly desired, but she used to get a connection at least. Not anymore. 

Kara exhaled a slow, shuddering breath and bit her lip. She was glad to see the golden windows beckoning her to their warmth. Kara walked into the pub and the first smile of the day finally stretched her lips. The lady behind the bar looked up and smiled back. “Kara, love! Just the person we needed.” 

The affection in the voice was just enough to thaw Kara a little and make her feel at home. “Is the cellar door stuck again?”

“I don’t know who the bloody idiot who keeps closing the door is, but when I find out, I’ll have their arse.”

Kara laughed, knowing full well that it was Fiona’s husband himself who kept closing it whenever they had an argument. “No problem.” 

She stepped behind the bar and into the kitchen to the tricky door. She pulled lightly, aware that she could take it clean off its hinges if she wasn’t careful enough, but gave a good enough performance that no one would suspect a thing. She put the hook back on to hold it open and turned to the man who was looking at her sheepishly. “What was it this time?”

“She wants to put me on a diet. I’m a chef!” He patted his badge of honour with protective outrage.

Kara chuckled and shook her head, walking back to the dining room, her heart a bit lighter, as it tended to be here. She passed behind Fiona, careful not to make her spill the pint she was pulling.

“All done, then, love?”

“Yes, you just have to push it a bit as you pull.”

“So you keep saying, but I don’t see no one doing it all the same. Now, go sit yourself down, I’ll bring you dinner.” She put the glass on the tray for the waitress and walked back the way Kara had come.

There was no arguing with Fiona and Kara knew better. With a smile and finally at ease, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The comforting scents of the pub came to her: food, beer, whisky, the rain, the fire, people, but underneath it all was a hint of the two things she was missing. One was what she had come seeking and the second was the reason she had come for it. 

Smelling Cat’s perfume in a crowd never failed to make her heart clench painfully. She never could stop herself from looking for the woman who was wearing it and it was always a crushing disappointment. She’d find the source, get closer and then she’d notice the subtle differences, the missing hint of Cat’s skin; her unique chemistry made the scent something else, something inimitable and irresistible and it drew Kara in like nothing else on this planet. She would stop with her hand outstretched to reach the ghost of the woman who had left her.

She hated when it happened, when she was left alone in a crowd, her pain unspoken and unacknowledged lest it tear her apart. It seemed worse here, in her safe place. Whatever comfort Kara had found walking in disappeared and she opened her eyes. Tears blurred her vision and she blinked them away only to freeze, her mouth opening in a wordless “oh!”. She closed her eyes again, sure her heartache was making her hallucinate, but the sight remained. At one of the tables sat Cat Grant, her eyes on Kara, a smug smile on her lips. 

The young hero looked at the door for one panicked second and then back at Cat, whose smile had disappeared, her lips pursed in displeasure. The chair in front of Cat was pushed back, the silent invitation was clearly more of a command. Resigned to her fate, Kara obeyed, her eyes never leaving Cat, feasting on the sight of her after so long. The blond hair was longer, the curls were a little less structured, more tousled in a way that made Kara want to mess it up further. The charcoal sweater was too thin for the weather, but it looked soft and Kara blushed when she wondered if the skin underneath was softer. She caught a glimpse of the skintight dark jeans and leather boots and her mouth went dry. Casual Cat was even more lethal than runway Cat. 

Reaching the table, she took her seat, the silence stretching between them, neither willing to be the first one to break it. Green eyes roamed her face and Kara blushed under the scrutiny. There was something different in the gaze; it was kinder than it had ever been, less critical with the glimmer of an undefined thing. It made Kara’s fingers tingle with the desire to reach out and touch. Knowing she couldn’t, she spoke instead: “What are you doing here?”

“Here in Scotland? Or here as in ‘ _of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, I walk into yours_ ’?”

Rao, she’d missed that voice, the cadence, the timbre, the inflections of it; it sounded like heaven to Kara. After not hearing it for so many months, it made her want to curl up at Cat’s feet and beg her to never stop talking. She wanted to wrap herself in that voice, to let it put her back together.

Aware that she was giving confirmation of Cat’s suspicion, but unable to care at the moment, she answered. “Either? Both?”

There was a hint of pleading, a need to understand why here, why now instead of at home any and every day. Cat sighed deeply. She picked up the glass of whisky in front of her and brought it to her lips. An odd pang of hunger filled Kara at the familiar sight and she sat still, transfixed, her eyes following every move Cat made. There was a long pause when Kara knew every deflection was considered, but this seemed like a night for truthfulness. 

The glass held aloft, Cat spoke to its depth: “We were in London when Nathan came for a business meeting. He asked for his weekend with Carter who wanted to see the Lochness monster. If I had stayed in London, it would have been tempting fate and I would have been too far should he get bored.”

Having dealt with Cat’s ex on multiple occasions, Kara knew it was more than probable. It was a reality that hurt both Grants in equal measures, but for different reasons. Kara put her hand on the table and inched closer to Cat’s elbow, but she didn’t touch her, she felt as if that right had been taken from her when Cat had left. The movement didn’t go unnoticed and Cat stared at her hand. Kara flexed her fingers and asked: “Wouldn’t Edinburgh be more…?”

“It would be too obvious that I’m expecting him to screw up, which would irritate him and guarantee that Nathan would cut his time with Carter short. This place is in the middle of a national park, Carter’s already mentioned he wanted to come, so I’m waiting here to fulfil that desire,” Cat’s voice was neutral, but Kara knew that it had taken years of therapy to manage the deep well of anger and hurt that used be reflected in the tone. The subterfuge was something Kara would have thought of and planned to perfection before, she almost felt ashamed that Cat had to explain it. Cat finished her drink, licked her lips and mischievous eyes focused on Kara.

“And you, perfectly ordinary Kara Danvers, what are you doing here?” amusement made Cat’s lips twitch

“Pining is what she’s doing,” a large bowl of Scottish broth and a full loaf of fresh bread was put in front of Kara, followed by a more refined fish dish for Cat. “You’ll eat the lot if you want that tablet, lassie, or there’ll be none for you.”

An affectionate hand was passed over Kara’s hair, followed by a gentle tug on her ponytail. The infamous pout had no effect on Fiona. “The lot.”

With a put upon sigh, Kara took her spoon and noticed the interest with which Cat was observing the interaction. Those reporter eyes missed nothing and if she’d thought she could deny being here by simply saying she was on holiday, her obvious familiarity with Fiona was a dead give away that she’d been here often. Cat fixed Kara, as if she was trying to read each and every one of her secrets, but the question was directed at Fiona: “Pining for what?”

“Well, now that’s the question, isn’t it? She’d come around before, you know, bright as the sun, but that all changed a few months back.” The gentle hand was back, twirling Kara’s hair in an absentminded way and Kara concentrated very hard on eating as fast as she could. She knew better than to try and stop Fiona from sharing whatever story she felt like telling, but a part of Kara wanted to run away. She wanted to escape before Cat could put two and two together, but the rest of her wanted to linger in the pub forever and let her find out. 

Her eyes kept straying to Cat, looking at all the little changes in her face. She was gorgeous. She’d always been beautiful, of course, but there was something vibrant about this version of Cat that attracted Kara more than she would have believed possible. She looked rested and happier somehow. She wore a lot less makeup, just enough to look put together; pretences had to be kept up, she was still Cat Grant after all. There was something softer in her, like that last night on her balcony, but it went even further. It was if her travels had blunted her sharp edges, making her approachable in a way she’d never been before. 

It made Kara want to reach out and assure herself that Cat wasn’t a figment of her imagination and it almost made her believe that her touch would be welcomed. She wanted to put her hand on Cat’s and lace their fingers together, an anchor to keep her from being lost again. She wanted to follow the contour of her face with her fingertips and trace them like she had done on paper so many times since Cat left. She wanted… She just wanted.

Cat looked away from Fiona and her eyes met Kara’s, questions half-formed and merged with unspeakable sorrow. “How?”

“Well, downcast she was, never seen her like this before. It was like someone had flipped a switch and she’d come down all mopey. More often too, but that’s hardly a problem now, is it?” There was a gentle tug on her tail and Kara leaned her head back with a half smile for Fiona who was smiling back gently. “It took some prodding and some fairly underhanded blackmail to get something out of the lass, but it came tumbling out, in the end. She’d been left. Now, you’ll understand if I don’t think too kindly of someone who’d choose anything else over the girl.”

The absolute conviction of the sheer stupidity of the move made Cat smile. Kara bit the inside of her lip to keep herself from disabusing both ladies. She wanted to tell Cat that James was not the one who had broken her heart. He wasn’t the one who had left her waking in the middle of the night from nightmares of being alone in a fortress of solitude. The frozen wasteland was a terrible version of Cat’s office and her body was unable to move as she stared at a closed door behind which laid more emptiness. Cat couldn’t know it was her penthouse she flew to, blinded by tears. She would never know that Kara sat on the rooftop terrace, her ears straining to hear the almost forgotten echo of the heartbeat she’d been soothed by for the past two years. Cat couldn’t know it was her name she couldn’t stop herself from whispering as she counted the stars from here to Krypton to keep herself from being swept away by the pain in her heart.

She could hardly tell Fiona that Cat wasn’t smart, because she was, she had the most brilliant mind Kara had ever met. She couldn’t tell Fiona to be kind to Cat, that Kara understood her need to find herself, to discover the world, to be happy, because that was all she wanted for Cat. Her happiness, her joy, her fulfilment; it almost didn’t matter that she wasn’t a part of it. So long as Cat was happy, so was she. One day, it would be true. One day, when looking at Cat wouldn’t hurt this much.

“Sometimes men are dense,” Cat turned sympathetic yet merry eyes toward Kara. There’d always been a form of entertainment in her former boss’s efforts to match her with James.

“You won’t see me say different, I’ve got a husband to prove it, but no man did this. I thought so at first and I’m a firm believer of getting yourself back on the horse right away, so I figured, my Callum’s a good sort of lad. I raised him right, she can hardly do better, in my opinion. But the girl wouldn’t look at him twice.”

At the faint outrage, Kara bit into a piece of bread, hoping the mouthful would prevent her from having to defend herself again. She looked at Cat who was lit up in humour and the mortification of having to turn down Cal, who was indeed a good man, in front of his mother seemed worth it all of a sudden.

“Such a shame,” Cat said, taking a bite of her fish, lips curled in a smirk around the fork.

“Bah, not to worry, I’m cannier than you’d think. It took me a minute and a few pointed questions to realize the problem was that he’s a boy, which is fine because my Maisie fancies girls too, and I thought it was meant to be. Except not, because we couldn’t get more than a few blushes out of this one,” she tugged on Kara’s hair again, this time a bit more sharply. A mother’s disappointment at her children’s unsuitability was always bitter, even when tempered with affection.

“Any more children to entice Kara?” Kara could hear the mocking and knew Fiona had heard it too. 

“My Isobel just had her first bairn, so that took her out of the running,” Fiona’s voice was just a hint sharper. “But it wouldn’t have mattered, in the end. This one’s heart is true, you’ve just got to look at her face when she can be persuaded to talk on it. It’s a shame too, cause the woman she gave it to sure don’t deserve it.”

Kara watched Cat go unnaturally still. Their eyes met and all traces of humour had disappeared from the older blond. “Oh?”

A thousand questions were wrapped in that single syllable and Kara felt her heart falter.

“She’s apparently gone to find herself in the world. Some people are too bloody stupid to realize that sometimes the world is standing right in front of them, they just have to look up at it,” Fiona gave Cat a shrewd look and Kara wanted to let herself slide down underneath the table. If she were to admit having entertained the idea of crossing paths with Cat during her wanderings, this conversation wouldn’t have happened. She heard Cat swallow compulsively before taking a sip of the glass of water she had all but ignored until now. 

Unsure what to do, Kara took the last spoonful of her meal and looked up at Fiona. “I’m done.”

“One of these days, you’ll make yourself sick eating that fast,” her plate disappeared. “I’ll be back.”

Fiona left and a funereal silence settled over them. Cat pushed her food around, the movements small and precise. Kara looked at her hand; the ring was still adorning the middle finger, the nails were buffed to a shine, there were no accidental ink stains, no paper cuts, just a slight tremor belied by the stiff way she held her fork. She missed those hands, missed seeing them create genius with a pen, missed the fluttery dismissal Cat was so fond of, missed watching them move with grace and intent. She hadn’t forgotten a single detail about them. There was a secret notebook in her nightstand dedicated to them, to Cat really, but they had a starring role.

Cat cleared her throat and Kara looked up. There were shadows in the green that hadn’t been there before.

“You might want to correct your friend’s assumptions,” Cat’s voice was thick with something Kara couldn’t understand, but that left her mouth dry. She started to lean forward in her seat but an industrial size baking tray was set in front of her.

“Try not to eat it all, lass. I can put it in a takeaway container for you, you know?”

“I know,” Kara smiled up at Fiona, her eyes finally clear. “Thank you.”

Fiona nodded and levelled Cat with another cold look before turning on her heels, having somehow managed to work out that her impromptu dinner companion was the woman Kara missed so much. Kara watched her friend leave and turned back toward her dessert. This was the true reason she had come. 

Taking a deep breath, she inhaled the sugary scent of the Scottish tablet and the iron band around her heart loosened a little until it clenched harder. Cat’s perfume became intertwined with this scent that was so reminiscent of Krypton. The two mixed together in a way even her most vivid dreams couldn’t create, blending them together in a way Kara knew she would never be able to take apart. It put the two things she loved and missed the most in the same universe and tears formed in her eyes, the searing pain in her heart took her breath. She opened the eyes she hasn’t realized she had closed and found Cat staring at her, a line of worry connecting her brows.

“This is what you came for. Why?” The question was asked softly, the genuine care sent a shiver down Kara’s spine. She didn’t even think to lie, to deny that she wasn’t Supergirl, that Cat was mistaken. She’d known the game was up when she’d seen Cat at that table, but more than that, she didn’t want to hide anymore. She wanted Cat to know everything. Kara cut herself a square and kept it between her fingers, enjoying the granulated texture under her fingers.

“Back on … at home,” she heard Cat’s sharp intake of breath at the small admission, at the knowledge that home wasn’t here on Earth. She took her eyes off the square and expected to see triumph on Cat’s face, but instead she saw relief. The lies and the games had weighed on them both more than the young hero had considered. This story was a clean slate, it brought them on even ground. 

“We had this plant that had red flowers shaped like lilies of the valley, I guess, but about the size of a walnut, and rain water gathered in the bells and mixed with the pollen and it made this sweet sap. Farmers collected it and it was boiled into a drink. Texture-wise, it was pretty much like really rich cocoa that you’ve put too many marshmallows in.”

Cat wrinkled her nose at the thought and Kara smiled at her for the first time. It felt good. It felt like coming home after a really long, terribly hard day and Kara felt herself relax for what seemed like the first time in months. She was almost lightheaded with the relief. Feeling bold, she reached her free hand forward and lined up her pinky with Cat’s who hooked hers over Kara’s. The contact, fleeting as it was, sent a shock through the Kryptonian’s system and she licked her lips. A slight pressure around her finger encouraged her to continue.

“It was the best thing in the world. The flowers only bloomed once a year, just before my naming day, so I’d always get a bottle for a treat. When I was really young my father took me to one of the harvesting farms and there were seas of flowers. Closest I can describe it are the lavender fields in Provence.”

“It sounds wonderful,” Cat’s voice was mellifluous, with a secret undertone that let Kara know that this story was just for the two of them and it was all Kara had wanted her Supergirl reveal to be. There was no feeling of losing herself, of one-upmanship that usually came with one of the media mogul’s victories. There were no accusations, no recriminations, no fear to be fired and be sent away, to have everything she held dear yanked away from her. There was just the gentleness Cat usually kept hidden except for Carter and Adam. There was only wonder and a sense of sharing that warmed Kara’s heart. It felt just right to tell this story.

“It was, at first, but the more unstable our p … uh, home became, the less fields there were until they could only make them grow at the closest point to Rao. They tried to synthesize it, but that was a horrible, horrible mistake,” Kara shuddered, still remembering that drink, the dismay on her mother’s face who had thought to please Kara and her father’s laughter as they spit out the nasty drink. 

She remembered him pulling Alura onto his lap and kissing her to cheer her up. The open physical affection had been a rarity on their world, something Kara had only ever seen her parents do. She’d always wished for a love like that, true and deep. Recent events had made her reconsider what they had left as a legacy, but that they loved each other and that they taught her what constancy and devotion could be like, she didn’t doubt. She had just never thought she’d find someone to love like that on Earth. She’d resigned herself to it, to be alone because she believed in a different kind of love, because she was made differently. It had been OK, until that 10:15. Her life had changed that morning and right now, she wasn’t sure if it was for better or worse.

She’d remained silent too long because Cat’s hold shifted and slender fingers slid between her own. Kara felt every ridge of Cat’s fingerprints on her skin and she held still for a minute to try and memorize them. Her heart sped up at the contact, but the rest of her body yearned to feel more, to press every inch of herself against Cat until her skin hunger was sated. She didn’t think it could ever be. 

To distract herself, Kara took a small bite of the sweet she still held. She took the time to savour it, felt the sugar on her tongue, the small chunks of walnuts Fiona added to the classic recipe and felt completely at peace for the first time since Cat left. 

“This tastes like it?” Patience had never been Cat’s strong suit. Kara smirked and nodded, her smile turning wistful.

“It does. Other recipes come close, but this is it exactly. I think it’s the nuts,” Kara said, awkwardly cutting herself another piece with one hand.

“How did you find it?” this was not the reporter clipped questions Kara had always expected to hear in the event they would have this conversation. There was an undertone of intimacy to them and it brought her more contentment than the dessert. She stroked the skin between Cat’s thumb and forefinger and gasped with surprise when she heard her companion’s heart stutter. She did again and got the same reaction. Suddenly, she didn’t feel so lonely anymore.

“After, hum, that first night? In the Bay?” There was a small nod and Kara exhaled. “I realized that I could just go and see the world provided I was careful when I changed. If people saw me before, I have the…” she made a vague gesture toward her chest and was answered by a delicate snort. 

“And you came upon this pub…?”

“Oh, that was an accident. I was just visiting and I was walking the park not too far from here and I smelled it. I followed the scent here,” Kara hesitated for a second, stroking the soft skin under her fingers tenderly. “When I opened the door to the pub, there was a small part of me that almost hoped that I’d find my family behind it.” 

She gave Cat a small deprecating smile before looking back down at their hands. She’d dreamt about this, night and daydreams, just being like this with Cat. In her dreams, the world was not keeping them apart, great adventures were sought together, shadowy organizations were a myth she had never tangled with. In her deepest wishes, it was always just the two of them in their own bubble, skin touching even if it was as fleeting as holding hands. 

She felt the fingers tighten around hers and she looked up. Cat’s green eyes had softened in a way Kara had only seen directed at her a handful of times. She returned Cat’s gaze, her heart feeling light for the first time in months. She turned their hands over and untangled their fingers before putting her hand back over Cat’s, fingers tracing the delicate skin of her inner wrist, the pulse there beating wildly.

“Is that what you want? To go home? Is that why you come so often?”

Kara frowned at the question, the wavering in the voice barely concealed. The young woman gave the question a hard thought. 

“I’m not sure. Even if I made my life on this world, there always used to be this part of me that would trade everything I have here for it, you know? Just for a chance to fully belong again. And then I found what I thought was my place, my home, but…”

Breathing suddenly became hard as if a fist was closing around her throat and Kara tried to retreat, but a surprisingly firm hand tightened around hers, holding her in place.

“But what?”

There had always been an intensity to Cat and it had only been focused to this level on Kara once. It had scared her less then than it did now, but at this moment, she simply had nothing left to lose.

“You left.”

Kara watched as Cat’s eyes turned misty and slender fingers flexed around her own. She’d never seen this expression on Cat’s delicate features; it was part guilt, part hope with a dash of pain that made her shake her head.

“No, you…”

“Yes. Fiona didn’t just assume, Cat, I told her.”

“Told her what?” The silken voice she loved so much was barely above a whisper and it soothed the hurt inside Kara.

“Everything except your name. I told her how wonderful and smart and yeah, sometimes how prickly you are, how loving you are even if you want people to think otherwise, how driven you are, but how it never stops you from doing the right thing, how beautiful you are inside and out. How much…” Kara faltered, afraid, her heart beating its way out of her chest, but the sadness, the loneliness and the longing of the last months became too much and it didn’t matter if it was selfish to say it, she just had to. “How much I love you, how much I want to be with you even if I have to wait years for you to find yourself. I’ll wait, Cat. If you just tell me you might want it too, I’ll wait.” 

The world had ceased to exist beyond their table. Kara waited for Cat to stop staring at her like this, like she couldn’t believe what she had just heard, like she was getting her most profound desire and her worst nightmare all at once. The only sound Kara could hear was their matching heartbeat. The rest of the universe had gone silent, there were only those mad thumps beating frantically together. They were both too fast and the rhythm made her nervous so she rambled.

“That’s why I come here so often, because I have nowhere else to go with my feelings for you, they follow me everywhere, but here they hurt less.”

“It was never supposed to be like this,” it came out strangled, almost reluctant. Cat was looking at their joined hands, the usually proud shoulders slumped, as if she was folding in on herself, her larger-than-life persona forgotten in the wake of Kara’s confession.

“How was it supposed to be?” A tiny flicker of hope lit up in Kara. If Cat had given this some thought, then this pub wasn’t the end of the line.

“You were supposed to grow and shine the way I know you can and you were supposed to date James Olsen, move beyond your infatuation and possibly fall in love with him, build a life and…” 

Kara blinked at Cat, this was not a plan, this was a fairytale she didn’t even want. “And what, Cat?”

There was a fire in the green depths and it stole her breath. They were stormy with unspoken truths and feelings hidden behind eleventh hour hugs. Kara leaned forward, her free hand digging grooves in their table. She wanted to hear the end of this, it didn’t matter if it would break her heart, she needed to know what Cat had wanted.

“And I was supposed to move away from National City, I was supposed to get over these ridiculous feelings you would never return, because how could you? And come back once you were safely out of reach, when you would have stopped looking at me the way you do and that breaks down every damn wall I’ve put between us even if you were unaware that you were doing it. That was the plan, Kara.”

Pain and anger laced the words and Kara smiled. She knew it was the wrong response to Cat’s feelings and it was igniting the infamous Grant temper, but she couldn’t help it. She rose from her chair and circled the table, keeping Cat’s hand in hers to stop her from leaving. She knelt beside Cat’s chair and effortlessly turned it so they’d be face to face.

“That was a bad plan, Cat.” 

The look of pissed indignation that crossed Cat’s face unlocked something inside Kara and for all the times she’d wanted to do this, she gave it all she was. She surged up and pressed her lips against Cat’s. Surprise gave them both a jolt and Kara used it to press closer, soft lips meeting in a way she hadn’t dared hope to ever feel. Kara tangled her free hand in the blond locks like she had wanted to do a million times since the first time she’d met Cat. She stole her first taste of the older woman and by Rao, she was spoiled for the rest of her life. Cat moaned under her touch and liquid fire rushed through Kara’s veins. This was it, this was home, this was what she’d come across the stars for. 

Applause broke around them and they separated, Kara laughing with the people around them until they went back to their business. Cat’s focus was only on Kara, eyes soft, lips swollen. She licked her lips and Kara wondered if she was capturing her lingering taste. The thought sent a spark across her skin.

“So maybe it wasn’t the best plan I’ve ever come up with,” Cat said.

“It really wasn’t,” Kara raised the hand she refused to let go of and kissed the inside of Cat’s wrist, her palm. She wanted to simultaneously put her head on Cat’s lap until her heart fully healed and take her away from here so they could be alone. This wasn’t the venue for either so Kara looked up at Cat. “Come home?”

Cat tilted her head and looked at Kara as if she was a puzzle the older blond was trying to work out. She reached out her hand and hesitated briefly before laying it on Kara’s cheek. Cat was touching her and it wasn’t the end of the world.

“Not yet,” the words deflated Kara and she leaned her head against Cat’s knees. A gentle kiss was pressed against her hair.

“Why not?” she didn’t mean to whine, but she’d been allowed to touch the world she wanted to be hers and she couldn’t keep it for herself.

“I’m not ready. I promised Carter more destinations and the restlessness wasn’t a lie. Maybe it took your promotion and seeing your empty desk to show it to me, but I have to fix it.”

Kara sighed and nodded, her forehead brushing the rough denim of Cat’s jeans. It was fine, she had hope. She looked up at Cat and saw the guilt on her face. She smiled at her to ease it. She understood, she really did.

“I’ll wait,” She bit her lip and asked the most terrifying question of her life. “Can I come see you? Wherever you’re going?”

She watched Cat try to keep her composure, her eyes swimming. Kara held her breath and let it rush out when Cat nodded.

Daring once more, she rose up, circled her arms around Cat and brought their lips together. “Thank you.”

“You’re probably going to regret this,” Cat whispered, laying her forehead against Kara, as Kara took deep breaths after deep breaths, filling her soul with Cat’s perfume, until it was all she smelled, the only scent of home she ever needed.

“I won’t, you’ll just have to trust me,” Kara said with a smile. She leaned back and her cellphone went off in her pocket. “No, no, no, no, no.”

All Alex’s message said was: ‘Get here, ASAP!’ Kara hung her head. “I have to go.”

“That’s bound to happen, Supergirl,” the affection in the word made the first time it was spoken openly between them less nerve-wracking that Kara had ever expected it to be.

“You’ll text me the details? And other things? Just to say hi?”

Amusement had never looked so good on Cat’s face and Kara tasted her smirk simply because she could. Her phone chirped again before it started ringing. She pulled away from Cat, and took the call. 

“I’ll be there in less 7 minutes, alright?” She growled, closing the call, aware that she’d have to apologize to Alex later, but it was worth is for one more second with Cat.

Cat rose to her feet and kissed Kara, quickly but thoroughly, the thrill of it being the first time Cat met her halfway made her hover half an inch above the ground. Cat pushed her back down and smiled. 

“Go. I’ll have your thing put in a container. Maybe…” She looked down at Kara’s necklace and licked her lips. “Maybe you could come back after and we could share it. I think we should talk.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Kara didn’t know what was waiting for her on the other side of the world, but damn if it was going to take her more time than necessary. She took money out of her pocket, tossed it on the table and kept her eyes on Cat. She walked backwards to the door, almost afraid to blink, almost afraid that she’d find herself back in the cold rain, feeling as bleak as she did walking in. She watched Cat roll her eyes and mouth: “Chop, Chop”. Kara laughed and turned to leave, saluting to Fiona behind the bar, her heart light as she ran into the night, speeding away from her home, aware that she would find it again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> also thanks to elizadunc for the beta. 
> 
> And to Stef for her patience and support in the face of my never ending meltdowns. You be the best!


End file.
